Mark Udall spoke with reporters following the president’s State of the Union address, welcoming his focus on job creation and strengthening the middle class.

“I’ve been saying for several years that we have to keep a laser-like focus on crafting common-sense policies that encourage the private sector to create jobs. Growing the economy must be our top priority. And the president underlined that over and over again with a series of common-sense and specific plans,” Udall said after the presidential address.

During the State of the Union, Udall sat with Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) as part of his push to encourage his colleagues to set aside partisanship and sit together during the president’s State of the Union address. This marked the third year Udall has called for bipartisan seating during the address.

WASHINGTON D.C. – Congressman Cory Gardner (CO-04) released the following statement on President Obama’s State of the Union speech:

“Instead of strengthening the middle class through real economic growth, the President’s plan relies on outdated tax and spend economics. The President already got a massive tax increase, but he still wants to tax more, spend more and rely on government growth instead of private sector innovation.

“Strengthening the spirit of America doesn’t mean more bureaucracy. It means economic health and growth through small business, not big government. It means a country where people’s hard work allows them to move up and achieve their dream. We are not a nation that government made – we are a nation who’s people make a good government. I will fight for the people who will be hurt most by President Obama’s policies: the poor, middle class and hard working Americans who just want a good life for their families.”

Congressman Scott Tipton Statement on State of the Union

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Rep. Scott Tipton (R-CO) issued this statement following President Obama’s State of the Union Address.

“Over the last four years, trillion dollar deficits have fueled an unprecedented growth of the national debt and federal government, and have driven devastatingly high unemployment and paralyzing economic uncertainty. For middle class American families, seniors, small businesses and millions of unemployed workers, the state of the union leaves much to be desired. The President’s record of endlessly delaying or altogether dismissing serious attempts to get spending under control has driven economic uncertainty, cost millions of jobs, and is jeopardizing the future of the American dream for our children and grandchildren. With the Senate, the President has blocked dozens of House passed solutions to create economic growth, reform spending, and put our country on a responsible track. These solutions include two House passed budgets and two pieces of legislation in the past six months that would have replaced the President’s sequester with commonsense spending reforms. The status quo of punting on budget reforms while the federal government spends more than it takes in cannot continue. We must end deficit spending.

“While the President spoke tonight about the many challenges facing our nation, it remains to be seen what actions he will take to improve the situation. The House will take action, as it has the past two years, to pass a balanced budget, prevent Medicare and Social Security from going bankrupt, reform the tax code, ensure that our troops have the resources needed to defend our nation, responsibly develop all of our energy resources, and provide opportunities for small businesses to grow and American families to prosper.

“We have an opportunity to work together on behalf of the American people to put our nation on a sustainable path, end uncertainty, and restore prosperity for this and future generations. Should the President choose to pursue real reform and the path to prosperity, I stand ready to work with him.”

Gov. Hickenlooper statement on President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address

DENVER — Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2013 — Gov. John Hickenlooper tonight released the following statement about President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address:

“There is no greater priority than getting people back to work and making America a magnet for jobs. That will happen only if Congress joins the President in putting aside partisan politics and working together. The President laid out a strong and positive message designed to cut through the gridlock and bickering. He talked about manufacturing, innovation, clean energy and investing in people. These are investments we can all endorse.”

Lt. Gov. Garcia statement on President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address

DENVER — Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2013 — Lt. Gov. Joe Garcia tonight released the following statement on President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address:

“The President’s vision for America’s prosperity is based on the belief that an investment in people – all people – drives real economic success. Here in Colorado, we know that means a strong commitment to strengthening public education and providing access to high-quality skills development for all of our young people.

“We also support the President’s commitment to providing a fair path to legal status through comprehensive immigration reform. We hope that Sen. Marco Rubio and the Senators who are demonstrating courageous bipartisan leadership on this issue will be successful in addressing America’s need for security, a system for hiring undocumented workers to strengthen our economy, and an opportunity for all students to pursue higher education.”

CDP Chairman Rick Palacio Reacts to President Obama’s State of the Union Address

Denver – Colorado Democratic Party Chairman Rick Palacio offered the following reaction after President Obama delivered his State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress:

“We have tremendous challenges facing the country, but there are also great opportunities to seize—if we are willing to work together and grab them. While there is often disagreement on the best way forward, President Obama laid out a clear and sensible plan for the nation. But while we may disagree, disagreement does not justify inaction. Both sides must come together and take action on behalf of the millions of parents, students, soldiers, and retirees who are counting on Washington to work for us all.”

Denver, CO – Tonight, President Obama delivered his State of the Union address. Anneli Berube, Field Organizer with Environment Colorado, responded with the following statement:

“Tonight, President Obama backed up his bold words on addressing global warming from his inaugural address by outlining clean energy solutions that will pave the way towards a cleaner, healthier future.

“From the severe wildfires here in Colorado, to the worst drought we’ve seen since the Dust Bowl, far too many Americans have already been affected by extreme weather events that scientists warn will grow more common and more severe unless we take action to tackle global warming pollution now.

“We must cut carbon pollution that’s fueling global warming, rein in our energy use by making our homes and businesses more efficient, and ramp up our production of truly clean, renewable energy sources like wind and solar power.

“Americans have been asking for leadership on tackling global warming. Clean energy solutions, like cutting our energy waste in half and expanding renewable energy, as the president outlined, are critical pieces of the puzzle. We are also counting on the president to clean up carbon pollution from power plants, which will help the United States fulfill its obligation to future generations.

“We look forward to working with the Obama administration to implement and expand upon the president’s plan to address global warming, as outlined tonight in his State of the Union address.”

Environment Colorado is a statewide, citizen-based environmental advocacy organization working for clean air, clean water, and open spaces.

Sierra Club

Three weeks ago at his inauguration and again tonight, President Obama told the nation that he’s committed to leading the way in the climate fight — he even cast fighting climate disruption as a moral obligation, and we couldn’t agree more.

“If Congress won’t act soon to protect future generations, I will. I will direct my Cabinet to come up with executive actions we can take, now and in the future, to reduce pollution, prepare our communities for the consequences of climate change, and speed the transition to more sustainable sources of energy.”

– President Obama, February 12, 2013

We all thank President Obama for his strong words tonight, and we applaud his vow to prioritize innovative climate solutions.

Now that the speech is over, send President Obama a message: Tell him that there’s no need to wait — he can start meeting his obligation right now, by tackling climate-disrupting carbon emissions.

Unfortunately, the president missed his chance to lay out a concrete and compelling vision for how he plans to use his executive authority to lead the way. And while he’s right to applaud our nation’s progress so far, that progress would be rolled back by more destructive oil drilling and gas fracking, and the burning of toxic tar sands.

Climate disruption is the biggest environmental challenge facing our nation and the world, and carbon pollution from coal-fired power plants is its single biggest cause. Cleaning up those power plants will make a big, big difference in the climate fight, and the president should take bold, decisive, and immediate action to address this threat.

Even a president who’s rising to meet the challenge of climate disruption needs to know that there’s a movement at his back, supporting his actions — but also pushing him to move boldly forward. Our activism will let him know we expect him to put action behind his words and use the full scope of his authority to fight climate disruption.

Tell President Obama that we’re ready to meet our moral obligation — starting with facing the challenge of cleaning up our outdated coal-fired power plants.

A victory in this fight means anything is possible. Leaders in government and innovators in industry will step off the sidelines and get to work on clean energy solutions. Big polluters — and our country’s decision makers — will know that the tide has turned.

If the president receives 25,000 letters by morning, he’ll see how strong this movement is. Let’s make sure he knows America is ready for him to lead the way in the climate fight.